Effects of a low frequency parametric excitation

The effects of a slowly varying parametric excitation on a shallow arch model are investigated. The delay bifurcation and the sequence of visited equilibria are analyzed. The method of Melnikov and a method proposed by Berglund [Adiabatic dynamical systems and hysteresis, Ph.D. thesis, Institut de Physique Théorique EPRFL, Lausanne, Switzerland, 1998] are used to determine chaotic regions.